Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

My dad loved cookies as much as I do, and that's really REALLY saying something.  However, unlike me, his favorite were Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.  This was the recipe my mom would always make for him!

Chocolate Fudge Pie

Who doesn't love fudge pie?!  

Stuffing with Sausages, Apples, and Pecans

This is a fun spin on a classic side dish to serve at Thanksgiving or Christmas.  

Wacky Cake

My mom used to make this for birthdays when I was a kid.  It's a super tasty and unique chocolate cake!

Coca Cola Cake

My mom made a lot of fun cakes when I was growing up.  As a true Southerner, of course one of those cakes was a Coca Cola cake.  It's delicious!  

The Softest Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love all chocolate chip cookies.  Chewy, crispy, fluffy, barely cooked... If you are craving a soft chocolate chip cookie, this one is the best!

Breakfast Sausage Casserole

We love to make this breakfast casserole for holiday brunches.  You can easily make it the night before and then bake it in the morning.  It's easy to make and super indulgent. 

Browned Butter Pecan Pie

In my family, no single person is responsible for all the holiday cooking, regardless of who is hosting the meal.  We are a potluck family, where each family member is assigned a dish or two to bring, so we can focus on just being together.  I had three separate holiday dinners to attend this Christmas, so I was sure I would be asked at least once to bring a dessert.  I had been dying to try out a new pie recipe, since I rarely have a good reason to bake a full-fat, decadent pie. Much to my surprise, everyone instead requested my "Crackaroni & Cheese", so I have found myself making a ton of macaroni and cheese, and alas, no pie.

Ultimate Fudge Brownie

The only thing in my culinary life that can match my deep love for chocolate chip cookies is a fudge brownie.  My favorite kind of brownie has a flakey buttery crust on top, but is gooey and fudgy inside.  While I adore my healthy brownie recipes (like my Black Bean Brownies), sometimes I just want a classic delicious brownie!  For the past few months, I've been experimenting with different brownie recipes, and tweaking them to try to create my personal favorite brownie.  If only I put this much work into other endeavors in my life.... Anyways, after much determination and calories, I've finally created a recipe that results in the ideal, ultimate, fudge brownie.  Honestly, this whips up so quickly and easily (with ingredients I always have on hand), that I'll never feel the need to buy a box mix again.  

Creamy Sausage & Spinach Pasta

My sweet newborn baby is apparently not a newborn any more...he's a whopping 8 month old.  If you think the first baby grows up fast...well, the second is just a blur!  He's crawling, pulling up, cruising, eating grown-up food; and most importantly, he is sleeping through the night.  However, back 8 months ago, none of us were getting much sleep, and my husband and I were zombies.  When you have just one child, you can theoretically sleep when the baby sleeps.  But when you have two kids?  Well, that clearly just doesn't work. 

Hot Corn Dip

Memorial Day is coming up in a few weeks.  Like many Americans, my family tree is full of brave people who served our country.  My dad was both Air Force and Army, and both my grandfathers were Navy.  My paternal grandfather, George K. Larsen II, gave his life for our country in World War II.  He volunteered for a last minute mission, and was shot down in the South Pacific.  His body was never found, so he's listed as both MIA and KIA.  As a child, I would fantasize that he had parachuted out of the burning plane, and had swam safely to an island, where he now lived out his days in paradise on the beach.  Now that I'm all grown up, I sadly know that isn't possible, but I take heart in knowing that his sacrifice (along with many, many others) helped protect our country. 

Mix-Free Homemade Spinach Dip

Recently, I found myself in as situation where I needed to whip up an appetizer for a party, but didn't have the time (or motivation) to run to the grocery store.  I looked at all the ingredients I had on hand, and I realized that I had everything to make a homemade spinach dip.  Everyone loves spinach dip, but have you ever had it made without the store-bought mix?  It is even better!  Honestly, there is no reason for me to ever use a mix again...making it from scratch was just as easy, and it is so much healthier and tastier!

Frosted Sugar Cookies

As I have confessed before, I am a Cookie Monster.  I frigging love cookies.  Peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies; I love them all with my whole heart.  During Christmas break, my daughter and I did our annual tradition of baking a ton of cookies and eating about half the cookie dough before they even get in the oven.  This year we did an extra step and frosted the cookies and topped them with sprinkles.  My toddler thought this was literally the greatest thing ever.  I'm not sure what was the best part, decorating the cookies or eating them.  Who am I kidding....the best part will always be eating them. 

Mama's Spaghetti Sauce

Growing up, every year on my birthday I would request the same thing:  my Mama's spaghetti for dinner and my Mama Lou's pound cake for dessert.  It is a meal straight from comfort food heaven and just the thought of it makes me feel happy and content....and hungry, very hungry.  When I was nearing the end of my pregnancy a few months ago, my mom asked if there was anything she could do to help me prepare for the baby.  I had only one request:  I wanted her spaghetti sauce recipe so I could make it in bulk and feast on it during those first tough newborn weeks.  It took a lot of effort to get the recipe, because she had never written it down before.  She just kind of threw things in a pot and produced deliciousness.  So she jotted down a general idea of what she did, which involved a lot of "add some water" and "an onion or two" and other vague instructions.  So when I got around to making it, my poor mother was flooded with texts, emails, and phone calls from me asking for more specifics.  But it was worth it: the end result was pretty darn close to my Mama's Spaghetti Sauce.    This sauce takes a lot of time (and probably love), but oh man, is it worth it.  

Homemade Hot Cocoa

My little hometown has been hit by unseasonably cold and rainy weather lately.  On one particular dreary day, my family was feeling especially bogged down with cabin fever.  To remedy the situation, I suggested a day full of movies, a roaring fire, popcorn, and hot chocolate.  Needless to say, my 3 year old was especially on board with the idea of hot chocolate.  One problem?  I had ran out of hot chocolate instant packets, and I had no motivation to brave the rain for a grocery run.  So I decided to make some hot cocoa from scratch.  Most recipes call for cow's milk, but I'm currently breastfeeding a baby who may have a dairy sensitivity.  Therefore, I decided to use a carton of unsweetened coconut milk and keep the recipe vegan.  I was so surprised by how easy - and how incredibly rich and delicious -  homemade hot cocoa was!  It was so simple and so tasty that I don't think I'll ever use the packets again.  One batch make about 4 to 6 servings, and if you don't drink it all, it keeps quite well in fridge and is easily reheated.  

Mattie's Pumpkin Pie

This recipe is, in my completely biased opinion, the BEST pumpkin pie recipe on earth.  It's an old recipe, created by a family friend named Mattie.  It's her recipe from the 1950s, except it actually involved using real pumpkin, not canned.  I cheated and used canned, but added an extra step to make the canned pumpkin taste more like fresh pumpkin.  Sadly, Mattie passed away many years ago, but her amazing recipes live on in our house.  I wish I could have gotten a better picture to really illustrate how wonderful this pie is, but I had a pie crust mishap (as I often do...crusts aren't my thing).  Regardless of how it looks in photos, I promise you this is the creamiest pumpkin pie you will ever, ever eat.  

Cabbage Casserole

In Athens, Georgia, there use to be a great little barbecue restaurant called Jot Em Downs.  Its most famous offering was the Cabbage Casserole; and it was so in demand that it was sold out 90% of the time.  It was seriously that good!  I've been trying to replicate the dish for years, and have yet to nail it down (I'm convinced their trick was using the pork drippings to make a rich gravy/broth to add to the roux), but I think I've finally gotten as close as I can get to the recipe using regular kitchen staples.  However, if you happen to have pork shoulder drippings around, I totally recommend adding it to the recipe to replace the chicken broth!  Regardless, Cabbage Casserole is a fantastic dish to bring to holiday gatherings; I guarantee that no one else will bring the same dish.  I'll be taking it to my family's Thanksgiving this year!

Update:  I have the ACTUAL Cabbage Casserole Recipe from Jot Em Downs now.  I've made the changes below.  Enjoy!

Blue Cheese Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

When I reached the end of my pregnancy, I made a ton of freezer meals, so that I would have easy dinner fixings after the baby arrived.  One of my favorites was a dish I created by thinking of a few of my favorite things:  Blue Cheese Chicken & Broccoli Casserole.  This is a rich and decadent casserole; it's definitely not low calorie, but it is for sure high comfort food!  I wanted something that would be soothing and delicious, and more importantly, something my picky toddler would eat without a fight. It did all those things!  

Pumpkin Bread

When I was pregnant with my first child, I over prepared for everything:  birthing classes, breastfeeding books, baby supplies, etc.  However, there was one area where I completely dropped the ball:  I didn't make any food ahead of time.  I didn't realize how hard tasks like cooking dinner and running to the grocery store would be with a baby.  Instead we spent the first few months of my daughter's life ordering take-out and eating overly processed boxed foods.  This time, I planned ahead.  I made a month's worth of freezer dinners, snacks, desserts, and breakfasts.  One of my favorite items I made was Pumpkin Bread.  It was so easy and quick to make, and tasted so moist and delicious.  I was originally going to keep it pure with no add-ins, but my daughter convinced me to make it with chocolate chips.  I definitely think she made the right choice!  Feel free to mix in your own personal favorite add-ins.  This recipe makes two loaves, and freezes beautifully...if you can wait that long to eat it. 

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Buffalo Chicken Dip is literally (LITERALLY!) the greatest dip in the world.  Whenever it is served at a party, it is always the first and fastest to disappear.  In fact, if you need to find me at an event, look for the buffalo dip, and you will find me parked in front of it, eating it with a spoon.  My daughter's third birthday party was last weekend, and I decided to actually make it this time, instead of just being the person who eats it all.  My friend Randi makes an excellent version, so I hit her up for her recipe.  She's an amazing wedding coordinator (Carry Your Heart Events), so this girl KNOWS her party food.  I was so excited about the dip that I completely forgot to take pictures of it before serving (and, as always, it was inhaled as quickly as it was put out), but my husband managed to find a picture with the dip in the background of a party shot.  I zoomed in and cropped it, but it isn't exactly the greatest picture.  But you know what?  Who cares, right?  We all know what it looks like, and more importantly what it tastes like! YUM!